10 man Gor Mahia edge Tusker 1-0

Gor Mahia fought gallantly to edge a tough Tusker side 1-0. The winning goal came from Nicholas Kipkirui who converted a corner. Gor Mahia had been reduced to ten men after goalkeeper Boniface Onyango was sent off.

Additional reporting from Citizen Sports

Both sides got the afternoon ticking with a fair share of chances on both ends but it was the visitors who enjoyed a slightly fatter share of the ball.

K’Ogallo were forced into an early change after first choice goalkeeper Boniface Oluoch was given matching orders by referee Caroline Wanjala for handling the ball outside his territory after Tusker forward David Juma was set up by a fine through ball from the middle of the pack.

Oluoch stopped Robert Matano’s men from taking the lead in the 26th, but his decision was met with a red card forcing boss Hassan Oktay to sacrifice goal hunter George ‘Blackberry’ Odhiambo, as back-up goal keeper Shaban Odhoji took up the mantle between the sticks.

The K’Ogallo no. 1 left the pitch limping in what seemed like an injury ahead of their CAF Confederations return leg face-off with Algeria’s NA Hussein Dey in Algiers on Sunday.

Midfielder Samuel Onyango got close to giving the hosts the lead in the first half on three occasions, being denied by the right hand side of Emery Mvuyekure’s post on the stroke of the first half.

The two sides came back for the second half ready to bag all the three points and a series of attacks were lodged on both ends with Gor Mahia the first to reap, 12 minutes into the second half, after goal poacher Nicholas Kipkirui got onto to the end of Shafik Batambuze’s right footed corner.

Matano’s troops lobbied for an equaliser as substitute Bill Oporia got on target by heading in a corner in the 80th minute but the referee ruled it out for a foul on the goal keeper in the build up.

A couple of moments after blowing up a glorious opportunity to double the hosts’ lead, Rwandese forward Jacques Tuyisenge made way for veteran striker Dennis Oliech with five minutes of normal time remaining, marking the first appearance for ‘Wuod Maria’ as he is known in some quarters after the much-publicised pay dispute with the Gor hierarchy.

Oliech and Onyango both came close in the final moments of the game but sent the ball flying onto the stands, with the Kipkirui solitary goal getting the job done for the 17-time KPL champions.

Discipline is paramount in football. It is a strategy that both players and the coach must employ in Algeria. For players must keep their hands off any opponent in Arab lands. Whatever it is the situation or push and pull Arabs are fond of going down like dollies then crying wold to the referees. Keep hanss off the opponents. Not like we saw today. Otherwise congrats to Kip jal ma goyo bunde konindo ataro

Congrats boys and coach for that wonderful fight since we were reduced to 10 men after just 23 mins but still went on to conquer our title nemesis. The 6 clear missed chances though are comical to say the least for all were one vis one situations with only the keeper to beat. Players must calm down and be clinical infront of goal at the top level. Otherwise i thank God for the important win…Special mention to Kenneth Muguna, Nicholas Kipkirui,Lawrence Juma and Shafik Batambuze for terrific display

Jasego we hope that the TB has prepared the boys both mentally/psychologically and physically for the Arab encounters. It will require a lot of character and discipline. We pray that we dont get those dubious red cards. Like the Algerians said, let our boys be well prepared for “war” in Algeria and Egypt.

@gor player….i.like you but because you like playing kalongolongo kwa nyasi pls comment when you are ready to grow otherwise ……gor tunapeleka nyasi bado chezanayo peke yako nje wakati wakubwa wakizungumuza……just try as you ar doing to be relevant…..pls my brothers on this site dont bother engaging this gor player he has proved he is fake and only knows how to play kwa nyasi.

Members i think we should just ignore this fellow@Gor Player. He is not worth wasting your time on. Otherwise congrats for team Kogallo. One more thing, is Blackberry’s style of football going down or what? the guy nowadays gives blind passes, not confident, i may be wrong.

I take the 3points with both hands and while there was a litany of missed one on one scoring chances , I take comfort , though not enough , that we are at least creating chances while wishing to add that one of the hardest
chances to score are those one on one situations and the world has very few of such players , to remedy such situations its normally advisable that you have one or two other team mates in the box , to act as decoys or options or both so that the goalkeeper is in a flux of what option you will take , while the striker on the ball has the option to go round the keeper , pass the ball to his options if the angles are to narrow or dummy the goalkeeper using the decoys , a 100% phisically and mentally fit Oliech knows what I mean and I believe its just a matter of time before we start seeing that , beauty of this being that when it comes to fruition , it will lift the others ‘ games .
All said and done , this is now behind us and all our attention turns to Algiers and I dont want to go deep into it because I believe Hassan Oktay has a plan , and the players have also prooved they have the will and the motivation and thanks to the EC on the latter , the only weak link so far in this journey has been the fans who have not matched that commitment by filling the stadiums but instead filling the social media .
All I can pray for as we engage Hussein Dey and Zemalek is cool , composed , intelligent and deliberate game management .
As to that kalongolongoist who has strayed into our house , its not good throwing missiles at a boy fleeing their house coz of hunger , domestic violence and chaos by irresponsible parents who wish they had aborted him , if Gor player be an ingwelet like it has been intimated , its only fair that we accomodate him as the rescue team tries to bring back his alchoholic parents back to sobriety .

Adding my contribution on Kipkurui, I think both thoughts are noble and very constructive. I would however look at it from a different angle. Players come and go and this is world over and like has been said you can never really tie them down once they are decided. Some how you get players who simply enjoy playing as they exploit their talents in which ever club they feel satisfied and at home. I would therefore just offer a thought to Kipkurui.
1. Never to allow himself to be carried by the wind of being praised by the people. As much as they may mean well, but in the nutshell lies unpredictability of feelings. When we loose the blame is on you and how useless you are. When we win, you are the bomb.
2. Talents are nurtured through hard work, determination and patience. This is coupled by being at the right place or club for that matter.
3. The ambition to make money very quickly has caused many to take decisions that they have regretted. Unfortunately this is a common occurrence that I believe Kipkurui is privy to.
4. The advantage that Kipkurui has is that he is at the right Club where he can develop himself. If he continues on the right path and as it were, the other teams in Kenya as of now cannot convince him. I don’t think he would enjoy playing in front of a paltry spectator ship, where only few voices would be shrilling from somewhere.
5. Kipkurui Must guard against things that may lead him astray. Things that may destroy or bring down his energy. Above all discipline is the Key. May he bring in the humility of his kinsmen, in athletics.
These are just my thoughts.

Congratulations team Gor mahia fc for the hard fought win against matano chewing miraa tactics. You really fought well like wounded lion. On another note, I hope kipkirui have a long term contract with Gor mahia fc. If that’s the case, I wish to ask the EC through our beloved Jasego to ensure that kipkirui is remunerated well and at per with the best paid players in the team. I don’t think that kipkirui should earn below 150k while others who are only in Gor mahia fc to make money and don’t fight for the team and keeps on threatening to leave earn more than 200k . As you can see, anybody following confederation cup group matches are taking note of his contribution in Gor mahia and will start asking for his services and remember we have greedy agents who will only add few dollars to what he earns and convince him to leave the husband of teams. If he will be happy in Gor mahia like tuyisenge is happy, he will achieve alot with Gor mahia. For those who may think that am irrelevant, that’s just my opinion and am entitled to my opinion.

@Michael Ogollo , it is like you say a good idea to tie down kipkirui to a long term contract , but it is very difficult to tie a young ambitious upward moving player to long term contracts because in the matrix of World football or even African football , Gor Mahia is a small team within it and that most players whether local or foriegn use a stepping stone to their
Long term ambitions and when the big boys come calling there is little or nothing we can do about it and going by our financial instabilities and unpredictabilities , its a situation that is unlikely to change anytime soon , we may blame the EC , deservedly at times , but often times its because of the opaque nature of the transfer negotiations rather than the fact that they have let a player go , case in point being the Walusimbi case , but the contrary in my very strong opinion is the Kagere case where fans screamed their heads off blasting the EC for not renewing his contract and letting go while the truth is that Kagere had a counter offer from Simba that Gor were not capable of matching without disrupting other club activities including salaries and bonuses .
NB:I have described Gor as a small club in a context of where we are at the moment and not where we should or could be if we had a dynamic EC that doesnt over celebrate small repetitive local victories , we have over danced the same broken record song .

I am inclined to believe the result of yesterday’s match was more of team work. How do 10 men do it otherwise. Let us not view Kip as the real hero here. Yes he scored no doubt but I am sure someone else is also working hard.

That he has remained consistent also helps us understand that he has probably struck a good combination with some of the players who can pick him quickly. So let us be careful and also notice the “assistant” who assist him to score. Some team might just target “the player behind Kip playing the way he is” and not Kip. Then Kip will just fade away.

There have been riots in Algiers for the last three days. Riot police have been battling demonstrators in the streets with no evidence of calm returning soon.

Of course the Algerians have their domestic governance issues. However, we must be concerned as Gor Mahia, about the security situation there. FIFA and CAF too ought to be concerned. If is my hope that CAF is monitoring the situation closely.

@BB may be this is the war we were promised. EC must get in touch with CAF for directions. We can’t afford to risk lives of our players
On another note I read in the media Gor’s planned strengthening of the club during the forthcoming transfer window. I can bet that Walusimbi is still a safe and better bet for the club alongside other considerations. Walusimbi is a utility player with a very good performance record in defensive and attacking midfield positions where Ze Maria deployed him immediately following Aucho’s rexit. Let our pride not kill our game – we don’t have permanent enemies.

@BB, their is a Punda amechoka manenos in Algeria as they protest against their local Mugabe , unfortunately these protests are going to escalate tomorrow after the Friday prayers and this is going to coincide with our arrival in Algiers , a situation that portends great danger for any foriegner but moreso for Gor Mahia because apart from the sporting reasons for which we were warned , coupled with the defeat by people typical Arabs consider to be inferior , adding a punda mwenye amechoka frustration to that mix makes for a situation that is potentially explosive .
With that kind of situation in mind , it is incumbent upon a power that is higher than our EC to get a lid of this situation
and this being the Ministry of Foriegn affairs , Fkf and Caf , this is now beyond Sports .
All said and done , barring any unsporting circumstances , I believe we shall prevail on the pitch but only if we mentally overcome what they promised us .

Malian referee Boubou Traore will be in charge f the Caf Confederation match between Gor Mahia and Hussein Dey on Sunday. The Confederation of Africa Football selected the experienced blower whose last assignment was at the Africa U-20 champions in a match between Nigeria and Niger.

Traore has also officiated some high profile fixtures including a Caf Champions League clash between Mbabane Swallows and Etoile du Sahel where he dished out two yellow cards.

Countrymen Baba Yombolba and Nouhoum Bamba will be on the line. The match is scheduled for Sunday at the Stade 5 Juillet 1962 in Algiers City, starting 2200hrs, EAT.